Gerhard Richter’s cycle October 18, 1977 consists of 15 paintings and was created between March and November 1988. The paintings are the result of his fascination with terrorist group the Red Army Faction (RAF), which had been active in Germany since the beginning of the 1970s. The group tried to draw attention to their grievances about capitalist society by means of armed robberies and bomb attacks. The leading members of the first generation of the group were arrested in 1972. Their terrorist activities, their unparalleled pursuit by the police force and their joint suicides provoked heated discussion in Germany for a long time.Joe Hage